Labor Day, Hurricane, & Rum

     So I'm sitting down, having just showered after battening down the hatches as hurricane Dorian looms on Florida's horizon this Labor Day, and think how nice a good drink would be right now.  The problem being that I didn't buy any of my normal accoutrements to go with some rum.  Not wanting to fight the panicked hordes at the stores, I know I have to have something in the fridge that I can make a decent drink with.  Lady Luck shined upon me and I came up with this nice little cocktail!

The Red Sky

by

The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

     Rocks glass

     3 Ice Cubes

     1 shot Spiced Rum

     Vitaminwater Fire

Directions:

     1) Place the ice cubes in the rocks glass.

     2) Add in a shot of your favorite spiced rum

     3) Top it off with Vitamin Water Fire

     4) Stir & enjoy!

     The Vitaminwater Fire is a really unique drink as it's a spicy watermelon-lime drink that is not only cool & refreshing, but adds in a hint of heat on the back end of it.  This combined with the flavors of a spiced rum, make for a very unique flavor mashup that combines a hot summer day enjoying a nice cool watermelon, some homemade grog, and a touch of heat to get your taste buds going.  So will this Red Sky be a warning to you or result in some delight?

Good Road Ciderworks - Charlotte, NC

     A while back, I was visiting Charlotte, NC on work and decided to explore one night.  I stumbled upon Good Road Ciderworks before grabbing some dinner and what a selection they had! Not just of ciders, but also of meads.  They had so many, I couldn't decide what I wanted so I went with a 5 sample flight.

     From left to right, they're the Waymaker, the Blackberry Pitch, the Frolicking Fig (Anniversary Release), the 10 Penny Lane, & the Avogadro's Trail.

     The Waymaker is an apple ginger cider that has a nice 6.7% ABV to it. It's a nice crisp apple cider with a healthy ginger kick to it.  I could drink this all the time, it was really refreshing and was absolutely delicious.

     The Blackberry Pitch was actually one of my least favorite, even though it sounded amazing.  The mix of blackberries and apples host a 6% ABV and the flavor was really well done with a beautiful blend of apples and blackberries.  The problem I had with it was that it was too tart for my taste, it could have used a little more sweetness for my taste to even out that tartness of the blackberries.

     The Frolicking Fig (Anniversary Release) is a delicious mead with complex flavors and boasted an impressive 12.8% ABV!  It's a full-bodied and semi-sweet mead that combines the spice & warmth of a medium-dark honey with the toast and spice of being aged in a Doc Porter Rye barrel, all layered with the flavors of figs.  I really enjoyed this one and it would make a great holiday drink or after-dinner drink following a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

     The 10 Penny Lane is one of the more interesting drinks I've had.  It's what's known as a braggot, which is a hybrid creation that combines the best parts of beer and mead.  They combined several honeys and several malts to bring this to life with a 10% ABV.  This one combine fruit and toffee with the bitterness of beer and sweetness of mead.  This was an impressive blend and a great beverage for lovers of beers and mead.

     The Avogadro's Trail is a classic mead with a twist, the honey is from Avocado blossoms. This honey led to a mead with notes of browned butter, caramel, and apricot flavors with a nice 7.5% ABV. While it may not be a very strong beverage, the flavor composition was well-balanced and was very smooth.  I could see relaxing by a fire while drinking this.

     There was one other mead I tried while I was there, and brought a growler of it home with me, the T'ej.  This delicious mead was a new experience for me as it's not the traditional mead people are familiar with but is based on an Ethiopean mead recipe. It blends African honey with hops to create this national drink that boasts a 10.5% ABV.  While most meads are traditionally on the sweet side, this one is more of a medium body with a woodsy taste with hints of tea & black pepper.  These flavors all blend together with the honey to create a mead that reminds me of an adult version of Earl Grey with a dollop of honey.  one of the more savory meads I've had and truly enjoy.

     I really enjoyed my trip there and look forward to my next trip to Charlotte to try more of their products and bring home another growler of one of their creations!

Independence Day - 4th of July

     A happy Independence Day to the lot of you!  Today marks the 243rd anniversary of America's independence! May your drinks be cold, your food be filling, and the celebration be grand!

     On a side note, please remember that animals and some of our veterans will not be handling the fireworks well tonight so think of them before you set off anything loud & explosive tonight.  Make sure your animals are inside the house, not outside.  If you are setting off fireworks where you live, just make sure that your veteran neighbors are ok with it as well, & if they are, invite them to come join the show!

Happy Memorial Day

     As Memorial Day visits us again, I ask that you all take a moment to reflect on all of the rights, privileges, and freedoms we have.  As you do so, think not of those who are currently serving in our military or those who have served our country.  Instead, think of those who gave their all in defense of our country and are no longer with us today.  A happy Memorial Day to everyone and a deep thank you to the memory of those who served and are with us no longer.

Chunky Turkey Pasta

     I know it's been a while since I posted but I have been very busy, so to kind of make up for it, I have a new recipe for you all.  For those of you who either don't eat much red meat or are trying to cut down, this has become one of my favorite dishes to make that's packed full of flavor and very filling to boot!

Chunky Turkey Pasta

by

The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

1 lb of Pasta (whatever style you like, I used fusilli this time)

1 lb of Ground Turkey

1 jar of Bertolli Rustic Cut Roasted Garlic sauce

10oz package of Frozen Chopped Spinach

Directions:

1) Start cooking your pasta per the directions on the packaging.

2) While the pasta is cooking, pour the sauce, 1/4 jar of water (this is important to keep the dish moist) & spinach into a small saucepan and heat up over medium heat. Stirring repeatedly to break up the spinach.

3) Brown the ground turkey in a medium frying pan, making sure it's thoroughly cooked.

4) Once the turkey is done, add to the sauce once it's heated up while the pasta finishes cooking.

5) When the pasta is done cooking, drain it in a colander.

6) Put the sauce in the pot with the pasta and stir gently till combined.

7) Serve, add grated cheese if you want, and enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I want to wish you all a happy St. Patrick's Day!

     I hope you all had a good day today and celebrated with friends and/or family.  I didn't do much but I did celebrate my usual tradition by having steak, potatoes, and a Guinness.  I started this tradition many years ago in memory of a dear friend of mine, he passed away and this was one of his favorite meals.

     I seasoned my steak with Montreal steak seasoning yesterday and let it sit in the fridge for about 24 hrs, seasoning should be done at least 40 minutes prior to cooking up to overnight.  For the potatoes, I did something different and tried a recipe for crispy smashed potatoes.  After boiling, you smash them with something flat and brush olive oil on them, then season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme.  Once they are seasoned, you bake them at 450° for about 20 minutes or until they are brown and crispy on top.  As you can see in the picture, I followed this up with a nice cold pint of Guinness.  I hope you all enjoy your St. Patrick Day meals and try not to get into too much trouble today.

Beer Brats & Whiskey Glazed Cabbage

     Top o' the morning, err, evening to you all!  With St. Patrick's Day coming up, I was inspired to cook up an Irish-inspired dish prior to the holiday.  So I slightly modified a recipe from Alton Brown's own cookbook for the cabbage part of this dish. This dish has a wonderful taste that speaks of an Irish-American background and one I will be cooking again in the future.  I enjoyed this meal with a nice pint of Guinness draught and was pleasantly full after eating a bowl of it.

Beer Brats & Whiskey Glazed Cabbage

By

The Pirate Chef (inspired by Alton Brown)

Ingredients:

     1 Package of Beer Bratwursts

     3 Tbls Unsalted Butter

     1 Lb Green Cabbage (cored & shredded)

     1 Tsp Fine Kosher Salt

     1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper

     2 Minis Irish Whiskey

Directions:

     1) Melt butter in a 12-inch saute pan with high sides over med-high heat until butter begins to brown.

     2) To shallow pan, add 2-3 pats of butter and melt over medium heat.

     3) Add beer brats to shallow pan and cook for 6-8 mins, turning every few minutes to make sure no side gets burnt.

     4) Add cabbage, salt, & pepper to pan with browned butter and saute 7-10 mins, stirring occasionally until tender & lightly browned.

     5) Turn off heat for pan with cabbage & deglaze the pan with whiskey, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom, stirring everything together thoroughly.

     6) Slice brats on the diagonal and spread over the cabbage in each plate.

     7) Serves 4-6 people.

     I added more whiskey to the original recipe, which only used 2oz and added the sliced beer brats for a nice light meal. I used a link and a half of the beer brats for my own bowl as is pictured above, but you can use as little as one link if you want to stretch it out a bit more. I will be adding pictures and another recipe next week, after St. Patrick's Day for you all as well.